“We Don’t Focus On Just A Design Perspective, We Support Our Clients To Fulfil Their Vision”, Says AESG’s Lindsey Malcolm

Q: Given the current technological advancements, and of course, the climate consciousness, which is building very steadily and concomitantly, could you tell us how sustainability impacts infrastructure, especially in the Middle East?

A: Infrastructure really defines how cities and communities’ function, in addition to what controls the distribution of resources throughout cities. And if you consider the idea of sustainability, it’s how we use fewer resources, and how we use the resources we have more efficiently, to show a very clear link between infrastructure and sustainable behavior. The two are directly impacted. 

Thinking about it more subtly, as we push to be more sustainable in our use of water and energy, then the flow of resources changes within cities and within the buildings that we design. And that means that the infrastructure that we design needs to change too. It also means that we start to look at different types of infrastructure. For example, if you consider a site like the EXPO 2020 site, the way that it was designed and developed it is very different in terms of its expectations around energy and water use as compared to conventional development, because it's had such a focus on sustainable design. 

You also have considerations around newer resources or other resources that we might not traditionally have looked after. For example, thinking about wastewater, and solid waste management, there is an infrastructure that must be put in place to manage these and process them. You start to add layers of infrastructure into the development that would not previously have been considered. We also have similar aspects for transport and mobility, the way people move around the site, and the infrastructure we put in place for that. And similarly, with things like telecoms and smart cities, we really push new types of infrastructure and more sustainable approaches in a way that we haven't done previously. And that really shifts the perspective a little bit and puts in more challenges along with more opportunities.

We consider not just the sort of pipes and wires, but about the actual experience for us as residents. As users of the built environment, the public realm changes in the way that we interact with the world around us. There's also an increased focus on things like well-being and comfort. And so, the way that we behave and engage is completely new.

Q: And that also makes it rather difficult for a lot of people to adopt and adapt to sustainability, because that also comes at the cost of luxury and comfort sometimes.

A: Definitely. It's one of those aspects where we do a good job but it's only when for example the design doesn't work, that people really spot these issues. It's trying to deliver sustainable infrastructure, and functional infrastructure in a way where people have a positive experience and don't even realize that it's there.

Q: Could you tell us a little bit more about AESG 's vision, especially when it comes to the Middle East? 

A: AESG is an engineering and advisory firm that looks to drive advancement in the built environment. And we really have a strong focus on sustainability and a part of our vision is about working with our clients and collaborators to provide sustainable solutions. This means that we look very closely at how projects are truly sustainable, what the actual impact is on the world, how we can develop policy and strategy and design solutions across some of the region's biggest projects, the most high-profile master plans, and iconic building designs. 

We had a lot of involvement within the Expo 2020 site, working on the Sustainability Pavilion, and even the UAE Pavilion, and learned by looking at how these buildings can be truly sustainable and minimise their impact on the world around them. We work with clients like ICD Brookfield Place where you have a LEED Platinum-certified building that is now beginning to operate and on a journey towards net zero. We work with developers like Masdar who integrate Net Zero principles into their design. We're always focusing not just from a design perspective on our buildings, our communities, and our neighborhoods, but also support our clients such that they can realize their visions, and their ambition, and deliver projects that are truly sustainable in operation.  

Q: What's the key roadblock when you are designing something, especially when it comes to the Middle East because there are certain inherent challenges within the region? 

A: Sustainability has been reduced to a popular buzzword where people say something is sustainable without really understanding what it means. As specialists, we need to focus on educating people and taking them on that journey, and really understanding what sustainability means to them. Whether a designer or a developer, an operator or an occupant, having that ‘people’ focus is really important to us. It's not just about building something and selling it or filling it with tenants but rather about understanding the experience of living in the building for the residents. So having that engagement and understanding of needs is really important to us. 

I think the other big roadblock or big challenge really in the region is around resource availability. As we live in a very dry, desert climate, there's limited access to water and limited access to energy, and we have high demands for that. Striking a balance between what we need to support the lifestyle we have and how we create it in the first instance, that's the big dilemma for sustainability. We always look to work with our clients on their projects to identify how we can develop the design in a way that's efficient and effective, and cost-friendly.

Q: What are the effective parameters that you would really put in place so that the checks and balances are really working out especially when it comes to something as important as infrastructure?

A: A lot of the projects we work on in the region are in new areas that haven't previously been developed. So particularly for infrastructure projects, it's important to understand not only the environmental impacts but also the social impacts. Each project has its own unique perspective. But typically, the approach is quite common. It’s about assessing potential impacts. We need to think about air quality, noise, and the impact on soil or hydrology. We also need to look at biodiversity, groundwater, and marine conditions, which are certainly a big consideration in the UAE. 

You have a technical process of identifying all these aspects and then really looking at how we could design solutions that are going to mitigate these impacts and enhance the existing conditions. 

Getting that balance between the environmental considerations and the social considerations, because quite often, we're not just designing and developing infrastructure that's going to impact the natural world around us, but it also impacts upon people. It is important to have an understanding of how they're affected and what the implications are. 

This is an opportunity that's created. And therefore, we could look at enhancing biodiversity, we can look at improving air quality, provide jobs or education, or community engagement. Hence, the impact assessment, especially with infrastructure projects at the scale that they happen, is about looking at all those aspects in one.

Q: Since you talked about the creation of jobs, and you talked about an opportunity being created out of a challenge, have you come across something like that in all practicality in the recent past where a challenge, then converted itself into an opportunity?

A: There are masterplan studies that we're doing now, with a client in Saudi Arabia, who is looking at a lot of urban development within different regions in the kingdom. And within this context, they've started off by looking at environmental considerations. They're doing environmental impact assessments in different regions to see what's the impact of the development and what can be done to enhance sustainability and build that into the design going forward. This includes everything from guidelines around the use of energy, the use of water, and waste generation, to community engagement, connectivity, and employment opportunities. It’s a powerful thing with development, particularly at a master plan level. 

When you're talking about infrastructure projects, there are projects that will take a long time, though they'll be running for many years. One could bring in local people to educate and train them up if they want to, and to get them involved in the project to have an influence on it. This outreach that provides education can provide employment, because of the scale of project you're working on in terms of both its size and the duration.

Q: How would you say AESG does the streamlining for all these major projects? What is the average turnaround time for a project?

A: Depending on the sort of scale, each project has its own challenges and opportunities. You could see a building development and go through a design process in sort of six months to a year, a construction program could be two to three years. For some of the master plans or infrastructure projects, it could be longer. And within that timeframe, the community, and the neighborhood will grow. The infrastructure that's being installed on Day One could possibly support the first half or two-thirds of that vision, but one must think about what does sustainability mean now in the context of the future? And what would sustainability look like in 10 years when the final buildings get delivered as part of that? I think that's a big challenge for us or for any consultants in terms of trying to streamline the approach. We regularly engage with our clients about the longer-term future perspective and how those impacts on the design and operational decisions made early in a project.  

We do this by thinking about the timeframe we're working with and how the use of the infrastructure in the building assets might change over time. For example, we are coming out of the end of a pandemic, where the way we've used our homes, the way we've used our offices is completely different from what was expected of them. And that was never really thought about in the design process, and certainly not in terms of infrastructure. I think the load on the internet in domestic properties is probably significantly higher than anybody thought it could be. So, there's a big challenge there. 

An interesting consideration is how we engage with the world around us and how might that engagement change in the future. Especially for the bigger projects, that’s an important consideration with timing them and that future forecasting. But it's all about collaboration with any of these projects. The way to successfully deliver is through good communication and good collaboration.

Q: How long do you think that the Middle East will take to achieve its goal of 100% sustainable infrastructure? Do you think the year 2050 is an over-ambitious target? 

A: I think that for the achievement of net-zero for 2050 in the UAE and 2060 in KSA, infrastructure has a huge role to play in getting to that stage. And the two things really need to be considered together. I think the targets are ambitious. When you look at what's been achieved, particularly in the UAE in the last 50 years, and you think about the fact that we are just under 30 years now to 2050, we could do that. I think there's huge potential there and there's a lot of investment coming in. There's also a lot of ambition, not only from a government level with the policy and the investment but also from the grassroots level. For example, there are new companies, new ideas, and new technologies emerging that have been developed with a sustainability focus.

The idea of net-zero being 100%, sustainable is not only about how we design our buildings and how we engage with them but it's also about the infrastructure that supports them. So having access to solar energy, having access to clean water, and reusing water with effective treatment is not enough. We also need to think about the materials we use, and how we manage waste in a way that we get to a stage where we don't have waste anymore. We're keeping these resources in circulation, and changing the way that we move around cities, as well as interact with people. This changes the demand for infrastructure and reduces the carbon impacts that we have so that we can bring those down to zero.

There's some amazing work that's already happening around with some of the big master plans. In Dubai, things like the Expo site did some interesting stuff around community connectivity, which really focuses on accessibility, health, and well-being, and with a kind of social consciousness, the importance of mind and nourishment. And that perspective changes what we mean by sort of sustainable infrastructure. We have worked at Talal Al Ghaf, where we worked on The Royal Grammar School, which is a net-zero school. That's an amazing asset, not just in the sense of what it's designed to achieve, but also in the experience the students will have to go through that school. They will be aware of sustainability from the first day to the last. And it can be an inspiration to them and lead them to come into the industry to do amazing things of their own down the line.

This knowledge is powerful for us, whether it's in terms of the policy goals that we need as a society, or that education, communication, and awareness are really core to what we must do to try and get to these goals. 

Q: Could you please tell us a little bit about you, your family, how you're settling into the Middle Eastern world, and of course, a little bit about your favorite quote or your favorite book?

A: I have been in the Middle East for about 18 months now, with my wife. It's the second time I've lived in the Middle East, I was first here about 10 years ago in Abu Dhabi.

I don't necessarily have a favorite quote, but one of my favorite books, called “Information is Beautiful” by David McCandless, is full of infographics and data visualizations that really communicate important things about the world around us in an accessible form. The reason I like this book is that it really highlights the importance of communication when it comes to data and important ideas. 

For me, I think communication is kind of key to everything we do and our aspirations to try and achieve a sustainable world for us. As consultants, we can't deliver if we can't communicate effectively and we're talking about complex, big challenging issues with lots of data and information behind them.